The One Where Blaine Screws Up A Lot
by fleurdelisee
Summary: Blaine has some issues with not being an ass to everyone.


_Blame Special Education for showing us a totally uncool Blaine and a reform-school-ish Dalton. My brain had to deal with it in some way. This happened. Keep an eye out for Author Note Part Deux at the end. Also, I am absolutely unable to not write angst. I'm sorry. Totally not canon anymore, mainly because now we know Dalton is not a boarding school and Kurt and Blaine didn't get together until Original Songs._

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><p>It may not look like it, but Blaine was trying not to be too jittery that morning over breakfast. He was truly, genuinely trying to look calm. They should appreciate how much effort he was putting into this. It was completely uncalled for when David threatened to drown him in his Corn Flakes if he didn't stop bouncing his leg or drumming a rhythm on the table.<p>

He could not tell them why he was so nervous. Telling them that he was eager and nervous and terrified and excited and freaking out over Kurt arriving later that day would give away everything he was working so hard to hide. There was no way anyone could know how much he loved him. He had a reputation and pride and did not need to give them a reason to make fun of him and his infatuations. He had learned his lesson with Alessandro, the exchange student, the year before.

"Hey, didn't you say that kid from Lima was starting today?" Justin asked, momentarily paralysing Blaine.

"Hum—yeah. He's going to be there for our first period. He's like, a genius of French or something, they put him a year ahead."

"_I see_." The emphasis made Blaine even more nervous.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Did he sound defensive? He was not defensive. If he sounded defensive, it was not intentional.

"Jeez, nothing Blaine, relax." So he sounded defensive. Shit.

He walled himself in a frustrated silence that extended way into their first period. He was trying to focus on the class but it was hard when he knew Kurt could walk in at any moment. He had texted him, half an hour earlier, saying he was stuck filling tons of paperwork with his dad.

When the door opened and Kurt walked in, looking awkward and out of place, Blaine could not hold back his grin. This caused Wes to roll his eyes and him. Blaine glared at him before turning his attention back to Kurt. He was talking with their teacher, holding his textbook close to his chest. Kurt caught Blaine's eyes and reciprocated the smile, adding a small wave. Their teacher noticed and seconds later, sent Kurt to sit behind Blaine.

It turned out that years of public education had turned Kurt into a master in the art of passing notes without being noticed. Blaine opened the tightly folded piece of paper and bit back a smile. Kurt's handwriting was neat and rounded, like that of a girl.

_Hey. You didn't warn me these uniforms were the single most uncomfortable thing in the world. Are the pants supposed to itch so much or am I allergic to whatever the hell they are made of? Anyway, don't answer, I have a feeling you are very bad at subtly passing notes. I just wanted to say 'hi'. So, hi. :)_

When the class ended, Kurt stood by his desk as he gathered his things. Blaine caught James eyes on him and didn't miss the wink the other boy sent his way, nor the waggling of eyebrows. Blaine only glared back. It seemed like it would be his best mean of communication for the day.

As soon as he was up on his feet, Kurt hooked his arm with his and began talking at the speed of light. Blaine could feel the stares as they walked down the hallway. Kurt seemed oblivious to them but it kind of figured. He had learned to ignore them.

"Hey, let me see your timetable. Maybe we have more classes together," Blaine said hurriedly, unhooking their arms to take the piece of paper Kurt handed him. He was trying hard to sound normal.

"I'm a year younger. We won't. Are you okay, Blaine? You look weird." Kurt sounded concerned, which did nothing to calm down Blaine.

"No, don't worry. I'm fine. Hey, I have to go. Your next class is right over there. I'll see you at lunch."

Blaine sped away, leaving a confused looking Kurt standing in the middle of the hallway. He entered his next classroom and headed straight to his desk, sitting down and taking a deep breath.

"You're not with—hum. That kid from Lima." It was Justin again.

"Kurt. He has a name."

"Oh, sorry. You're not with _Kurt_?"

"No, he's in Geography."

"_I see_."

Blaine frowned at him, getting ready to snap something particularly vicious at him, when David and Wes arrived.

"Hey, look who's coming. Merry and Pippin," he said instead, trying to lighten his own mood.

"Where's Christopher Robin?" Wes asked.

"Geography," Justin answer immediately.

Blaine stared at his friends as they very obviously knew who they were talking about. He, personally, was lost.

"Who the hell is Christopher Robin?" he finally asked when none of them looked like they were going to specify it.

"You know. That kid. Kurt," Justin said dismissively.

"_Christopher Robin_? The kid in Winnie The Pooh? Okay, at least my nicknames are from cool things."

"Says who?" David was clearly teasing him.

For some reason, Blaine found his friends very infuriating that day. He decided to only roll his eyes and ignore him. He had better things to do than listen to them, like sharpen his pencils.

"Hey, tell Von Trapp to come to rehearsal tonight. We've agreed to let him in the club."

"His name is Kurt _Hummel_," Blaine hissed, not looking away from his neatly sharpened pencils. "And you sound like you're the head of some sort of elitist secret society."

"Well. We're not secret but you know very well that not everyone gets into the Warblers. He'll have to prove his worth, of course, but his previous experience in a similar club has influenced our decision to let him in on trial."

"Wes, you're an ass. I thought you'd like to know," Blaine snapped, definitely annoyed now.

"And you're in such a good mood, today, Blaine. It's astounding. We all thought having your boyfriend over here would be a positive thing."

"For the seven millionth time, he's not my boyfriend."

"Blaine. We're joking. You know, the thing we do all day, every day? We're doing it right now. Stop taking everything personally."

Blaine sighed and dropped his head on his desk.

"I'm sorry," he moaned. "I know I'm horrible today. I just want Kurt's first day to be okay. Is that such a terrible thing? I'm trying to be the cool mentor-thing Fred and George were with me when I transferred."

"Well, start by relaxing. Also, Harry Potter?" David asked, sounding unsure.

"Yes. Gosh, you still haven't read them? You borrowed my books a year ago. You suck."

"You wish."

Blaine raised his head in time to see David winking at him before going to his seat. He had completely forgotten there was a reason why he was staying in this class, other than to be relentlessly teased by his friends.

His phone vibrated in his pocket halfway through the lesson. He discreetly pulled it out of his pocket and smiled at the screen.

_Was this teacher there when the Earth was formed? Because he looks old enough for this. I think I fell asleep four times since he began telling us about stratified rocks. – kurt_

Blaine could not help but find how Kurt used perfect capitalisation in text messages endearing. He was about to reply when he caught his teacher's eyes on him. He quickly put the phone back in his pocket and focused on what he was supposed to be reading.

Kurt was waiting for him outside his classroom.

"Did you get my text?"

"Yes," Blaine said, walking to the cafeteria with him.

"You didn't reply." Kurt sounded a little bit hurt.

"I couldn't, the teacher stared at me for the entire lesson. I think she suspected something. Sorry."

"It doesn't matter," Kurt said enthusiastically. Blaine expected him to take his arm again but he surprisingly did not. It saddened Blaine a bit to think Kurt had understood his awkward action earlier.

Kurt kept talking all the time they were waiting in line to get their food. He was doing a lot of hand gestures and was sort of loud, which made Blaine uneasy. He was unsure whether Kurt was louder than usual or if he were just paranoid. He could not ignore the way the other students looked at them. Kurt, in a very Kurt fashion, did not seem to notice anything.

"—and you _absolutely_ have to see this article. I kept it for you. I would go as far as saying it's Cosmo's best this year. Yes, I know, it's a bold statement but it's _that_good, Blaine. Oh, hi! I'm Kurt."

Blaine sombrely sat down as Kurt introduced himself to his friends. David whispered 'Cosmopolitan' with a laugh so only Blaine could hear it. Blaine punched his arm and rolled his eyes, shrugging.

Kurt immediately got along with his friends, which considerably lightened his mood. Or, well, it did until Kurt excused himself and left the table and he heard them talking about him. They were not mean, as per say, but Blaine could sense how they had reserves about him. They were not quite sure he was as fantastic as Blaine had depicted him to be.

"It's not that he's not nice, Blaine, no," Kyle tried to explain. "He's just—there. You know?"

Yeah, Blaine knew. He was exactly what no one was at Dalton; passionate, loud and expressive.

"He's refreshing," Wes noted. "But that's always like that with fresh meat. We'll see how he'll be once he's settled in."

"You mean once Dalton has erased every parcel of individuality he ever had," Blaine said darkly.

"It's not _that _bad, come on."

Blaine could have argued that yes, it was, and he himself was the best example but he preferred leaving them alone to debate over whether Kurt was a cool guy or not to find him.

Kurt was sitting in the library, looking outside the window with a textbook opened in his lap. Blaine sat in the armchair in front of his and smiled when Kurt looked at him.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hi," Kurt whispered back, closing his textbook and crossing his hands over it.

"You ran away."

"I didn't exactly feel welcome," he answered sourly.

"Ignore them, they're really awful lately, with midterms and everything. You have nothing to worry about, you're awesome."

Kurt gave him a lop-sided smile and raised his eyebrows before leaning back in his chair and looking outside again. They stayed in silence for a while, Blaine studying Kurt's face as he resolutely stared out the window. Blaine could swear he saw a faint blush on Kurt's cheeks when he noticed Blaine looking at him.

"I really want to read this article, by the way."

Kurt looked back at him. "Stop by my room tonight, then. I'll have it ready for you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a class in ten minutes and I'm not sure I know where it is."

"I'll walk you there." Blaine jumped to his feet and pried the timetable out of Kurt's hand to see the room number.

They walked in silence, which startled Blaine. He could not remember a moment spent with Kurt when either of them had not been talking non-stop.

"Don't forget, Warblers rehearsal at four in the seniors common. See you then!" Blaine patted Kurt's arm and gave him a bright smile before walking away.

The rehearsal was even worse than what Blaine had dreaded. Wes put on his Head Bitch in Charge attitude and Blaine could almost hear Kurt's expectations, dreams and self-esteem shattering. He tried to meet his eyes to show him his support as he handed Kurt Pavarotti's cage but it was useless. By the time the meeting ended, Kurt looked thoroughly miserable.

Minutes later, he was receiving a text message from Kurt telling him to forget about meeting in his room that night, that he was tired and wanted to go to bed early. This led to Blaine begging Wes, David and Justin to let Kurt audition for a solo for Sectionals.

"He won't get it. It will only bring him down," Justin argued.

"Maybe not but it will show him that we're not some sort of tyrannical club."

"No, Blaine, you're right. Let him audition. We have never heard him sing. It'll be his audition for The Warblers as well. I really hope for you he's good or we'll have to kick him out," Wes said after a moment.

Blaine stared at his friends for a long time, not saying anything. He could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"Oh, don't look like so offended, Blaine. You're as harsh with people who want to get in as we are right now, usually. You're upset because it's your beloved Kurt we're talking about."

"I'm not."

"Pff, make me laugh. The last kid who wanted to get in, you said he sounded worse than—"

"Don't finish this sentence, David. I remember what I said, thank you. You still could be easier on him. You don't know what he's been through."

"Oh, poor little soul. Do we need to name every guy who ended up here after being bullied? I don't know what's taken you, Blaine, but you're being kind of an idiot lately. You go tell Kurt he has an audition and you hope he's good. This conversation is over."

"You really are an ass, Wes," he said before storming away.

"I'm always an ass, it's you who's being uptight and getting worked up over it!" Wes called after him.

Blaine considered going to see Kurt but he figured he was not welcome. He did not want to give the impression that he had no qualms about showing up unannounced. He paced up and down a corridor for a moment, not knowing what to do. He was too worked up to do any homework and way too angry to go back to his friends. It was either pace the hallway or go listen to his roommate argue on the phone with his girlfriend.

He had to stop when the janitor threatened to leave his mop in his bed if he made a hole in the carpet with his pacing. He locked himself in his room and decided to sulk for the rest of the evening, his roommate be damned.

* * *

><p>The next morning, he caught up with Kurt as he was going down the stairs to tell him about his solo. Kurt looked really excited about it and Blaine had to leave his side quickly before his face gave him away. He could only fake a smile for so long before it started looking fake.<p>

In fact, Blaine avoided Kurt for the entire day and the next. He felt incredibly uneasy and awkward around him and he thought Kurt could notice. He did not know how to act so he would rather stay away completely.

He managed to give Kurt an encouraging smile before the boy stood up for his audition. And then his mind was blown away. He had never heard Kurt sing; or at least, never heard him sing _seriously_. There had been ridiculous sing-alongs in his car and one failed attempt at karaoke on a Wii but other than that, nothing.

Blaine could not look away from Kurt as he sang. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. In his state of complete awe, he still managed to catch certain phrases that Kurt was obviously directing at him, such as '_don't keep your distance_'. The message could not be clearer and a wave of guilt washed over Blaine. He met Kurt's eyes and gave him a half-smile. Kurt raised his eyebrow and haughtily sat down on the couch, crossing his legs and joining his hands on his knee.

Blaine left the room with the rest of the Warblers to go discuss the three auditions they had heard. He stopped trying to argue when it was obvious Kurt was not moving up. Even his repeated 'he's a countertenor, a_countertenor_' were of no use.

"Hey, at least we're keeping him," David said as they started leaving.

"I sure hope so. I saw your face, and Wes'. You're impressed."

"We are. But he needs experience and he needs to learn how to blend in, to be part of the team. He won't make it as a Warbler if all he wants is to get noticed. Try telling him that and maybe Wes will like him better. See you later, Blaine."

Blaine watched his friend leave and sighed, realising he had to break it down to Kurt that he had done all of this for nothing. He took a deep breath, painted a smile on his face and went back to the other room where the three boys were waiting anxiously.

It went better than he expected. He repeated to Kurt everything David had told him about blending in and Kurt did not look too hurt. He tried meeting his eyes a few times but Kurt looked away as soon as he did. Blaine was convinced, as he left, that deep down, he had hurt Kurt. The other boy was just very good at hiding anything he did not want people to know. It looked like he was up for another evening of sulking.

It took him three days to build up the courage to knock on Kurt's door.

"It's open!" he heard him call from inside and he slowly opened the door. Kurt was sitting cross-legged on his bed, his laptop resting in front of him. "Oh, hi Blaine," he said and shut the lid of the computer.

"Hey, Kurt. Can I come in?"

"You already are in. Take a seat."

Blaine let out a nervous laugh and sat down on Kurt's desk chair. He pondered a moment on how he had not seen his own desk chair since the first week of the school year. It was lost under clothes and books.

"Why are you here?" Kurt asked after a moment of silence. He did not sound rude or frustrated; he was simply curious.

"It's been a while since we've spent some time together," Blaine answered, knowing that his phrasing was cowardly. It was his fault if they had not been together.

"You tell me." Kurt met his eyes and held his gaze for a while. Blaine could feel the butterflies in his stomach as he stared into the green-blue-gray irises. "So, what do you want to do? You're not with your friends?"

"No, they're boring. And I don't know, just, you know, hang out." Blaine shrugged and smiled at Kurt. The unease was gone the second Kurt smiled back.

"Oh, wait, I know," Kurt exclaimed before jumping off his bed.

He leaned over Blaine – who maybe sort of deeply breathed in Kurt's scent – and retrieved a magazine from his desk.

"Read this. It's the one I was telling you about." He dropped the magazine in Blaine's lap and leaned against his desk, right by Blaine's side to wait while he read.

Blaine glanced at Kurt's thin body so close to him and quickly looked down at the magazine. He could not take in the words, not with Kurt right there.

"You're not even reading it," Kurt commented after a moment.

"I'm sorry, I'm really tired and I can't focus," Blaine whined, happy to see that Kurt rolled his eyes, a sign he believed him.

"Well keep it and read it later." Kurt went back to his bed, graciously sitting down and bringing his legs up, his back against the wall and his arms around his knees.

Blaine looked at him for a moment, not talking. It was the second time he was with Kurt and none of them talked. This time, though, the silence was comfortable.

"Hey," Kurt said after a while. "Come sit here. This chair is terrible for your back." He motioned for the empty space next to him with his head.

Blaine climbed on his bed and sat Indian style with his back to the wall. His arm was about an inch away from Kurt's. He could feel the warmth radiating from his skin.

"You're unusually quiet." Kurt almost spoke in a whisper. "There's something bothering you and you're not telling me about it. I'm almost hurt." Blaine shrugged, bumping his shoulder against Kurt's. He tentatively stayed pressed up to him and when Kurt said nothing, he relaxed and did not move away. "You're avoiding me and you're acting weird. Have I done something wrong? You used to be really nice to me and then suddenly you were this cold guy and I can hardly recognise you."

"It's not you," Blaine whispered, staring down at his hands. "I've been out of it lately, I'm sorry. But let's not talk about me. Let's talk about you. So, Dalton." Blaine wiggled his eyebrows at Kurt, who laughed before sighing and shrugging.

"It's different. Not good different or bad different. Just different. I need to get used to this new energy. Not fearing for my survival all the time will take some time adjusting to. I miss my friends and the people here are—different."

Blaine turned his head to give him a comforting smile.

"It's normal to miss them. I was—it was not pretty when I transferred. I cried a lot."

"Oh, good. I thought I was crazy for crying at night," Kurt whispered and Blaine could not resist any longer, he wrapped his arm around his shoulders.

"You are _totally_not crazy, Kurt. I think I cried every night for two weeks. My roommate was so worried. He kept telling people I was broken and he even had his girlfriend come in to check on me."

"Well, my roommate lets me cry without bothering me with questions. I think, though, that I've seen him peck at his food with concern, one night."

As if on cue, Pavarotti chirped loudly. They both laughed and Blaine felt Kurt leaning against him.

"Thank you," Kurt let out softly after a moment of comfortable silence.

"What for?"

"Being you."

"Aw, you're too sweet!" Blaine said in a cheesy voice, squeezing Kurt's shoulder.

"Forget it," Kurt said, moving out and away from Blaine's grip.

It took Blaine by surprise and he looked at Kurt with a frown for a moment. The other boy was busy picking the lint off his socks, very obviously wanting the conversation to move on and waiting for Blaine to make it happen.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" he questioned.

"No, it's fine. I'm just—no. Never mind."

"Okay… Oh. I know. Sectionals. We chose a song and I think you'll love it."

Blaine sat on his knees to explain to Kurt why they had chosen that specific song, putting a lot of movement and emotion in his speech in hopes it would take Kurt out of his unexpected sad mood.

"—and we've moved you to the second row, right behind me, because of your voice – they were really impressed, by the way – and right next to David. You'll love it. I know you're not a fan of risers so you'll be really happy to know you're not on one for most of the song. And that's it. We're teaching you guys the choreography starting Monday."

Kurt did a half-smile and nodded before letting himself fall on his back and putting the palm of his hands on his eyes.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked, leaning forward.

"Mm?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm comfortable."

"Yeah?" Blaine asked, moving forward on the bed to get closer to Kurt. He could not resist the temptation.

He acted before Kurt could see it coming. His hands found Kurt's sides and he began tickling him. Immediately, the younger boy curled up on himself and began giggling, trying to get away from Blaine. He was begging for him to stop in between his fits of giggles, kicking and pushing him away, to no avail.

"You're smiling! You're smiling! You're not sad anymore! I'm the best! I made you smile! I succeeded!" Blaine exclaimed, still tickling Kurt, who was now out of breath and red in the face.

"Is everything okay in here?"

Blaine stopped and the two boys looked up to see Wes and David standing in the doorway. Blaine moved away quickly, sitting back on his heels and straightening his clothes. Kurt was still lying on his side, panting and wiping his teary eyes.

"Yeah, everything is fine," he answered coldly.

"Were you _tickling _him?" Wes asked, clearly amused.

"Yeah, to annoy him. You know." Blaine shrugged.

He did not miss the frown that appeared on Kurt's face as he sat up.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Hey, we're all in the commons, if you want to join us."

"I'll be right there," Blaine answered, getting off the bed to put his shoes on. Wes and David left, leaving Blaine alone with a cross looking Kurt. "Do you want to come along?"

"No, I have to catch up in most of my classes. I guess I'll see you later?" Kurt had walked him to the door and opened it. He was now standing in the doorway. It looked like he was making sure Blaine could not walk back in. "Bye."

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><p>Sectionals came before Blaine could realise it. He lost sight of Kurt once they arrived at the auditorium. It had been a week since the last time they had had a real conversation. He suspected Kurt to be mad at him but he was not entirely sure why. Added to this was the fact that Kurt had befriended people in his classes and he chose to hang out with them over the Warblers. Blaine could not blame him but it still made him feel unreasonably jealous anytime this one particular guy flirted with Kurt.<p>

Blaine finally located Kurt in the distance, sitting at the bar and discussing with a girl. He was about to walk up to him when someone blocked his path.

"Oh, hi Mercedes! It's been a while!" He started moving in to hug her but her face stopped him. "Am I in trouble?"

"You bet you are. I don't know what you're doing or what's wrong with you private school kids but you stop messing with my boy's head right now. If he calls me one more time sounding so upset he can barely talk, I swear on my mother's head I will cut you. Understood, white boy?"

"I—seriously don't know what you're talking about. I swear, Mercedes." He took a step back, just to be sure. She really looked infuriated.

"Don't play stupid with me. You know what you have to do." She stormed away without another word.

"No! I don't! I actually don't!" he called after her but she did not turn around.

"Oh, snap," David said, having appeared next to him out of thin air. "Someone's in trouble. You will need to learn not to pick crushes with fierce Black friends. You just don't have what it takes to stand up to an angry sister, man. You're shit out of luck. Now go tell Pinocchio we need to get backstage, okay?"

"Alright, _Tweedle-Dee_," Blaine said roughly before walking up to Kurt.

Before he got there, he remembered something and quickly pulled out his phone from his pocket.

_I don't have a crush on him._

As he was heading backstage with Kurt, he received David's answer: '_The believable delay for denial is thirty seconds._

Their performances went well. They were up to their usual standards of excellence – Wes' words – and the crowd gave them a standing ovation. Kurt blended in perfectly with the rest of them, his voice barely noticeable among the others—exactly what an a cappella group needed. Blaine put a lot of energy in Hey Soul Sister, trying to get Kurt to realise that the song was basically aimed at him without having to tell him.

He was not – no matter what Wes and David liked to believe – so deeply in love with him that he would openly serenade him. He could, nonetheless, hint some sentences at Kurt; namely the part about having his mind blown or the one about wanting the world to see them be together. He could only pray that Kurt would understand it was about him.

Winning in a tie was unexpected but he had to admit that New Directions were very good. Not better than them, of course not, but on par. The ride back to Dalton was spent in a loud state of euphoria, all of them singing and cheering about moving on the Regionals. The year before, they had been beaten by Vocal Adrenaline. It was a nice boost to be able to proceed to the next level that year.

The Warblers all packed in the seniors common to celebrate their victory but Blaine noticed Kurt heading back to the dorms.

"You're not staying with us? It's your victory, too!" Blaine told him once he took him aside, away from the loud cheers.

"I'd rather go meet with my friends. We have a test to revise for. But you go have fun, okay?"

"Hey, Kurt, is something wrong?"

Kurt shrugged and forced a smile.

"It's been a long week. I need rest. Don't let me hold you back. Go with your friends and have fun."

"They're your friends, too." Kurt huffed and rolled his eyes. "No! I'm serious! Come on." Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt's shoulders and steered him to the common room.

Kurt sat down in an armchair next to Blaine and crossed his legs, looking like he'd rather be somewhere else. Eventually, though, the cheery atmosphere won him over and he was laughing and joking with everyone else.

"Well, Kurt, I'm glad to see you're part of the team, now," Wes said, clapping him on the back with a huge smile. "You're kind of awesome. I guess I misjudged you. I don't say this to everyone. Appreciate it."

"Thanks, Wes," he replied, smiling widely.

"Yeah, it's good that you're not loud and, you know, that you don't stand out so much now," Blaine continued, his smile mirroring Wes'.

Kurt's face fell and he tensed.

"I'm sorry if I ever embarrassed you with my personality, Blaine. At least _I_have one," Kurt snapped and got up, storming out of the now completely silent room.

"Smooth, Blaine. Forget about getting in his pants, now," Justin commented flippantly.

"Yeah, it's a wonder he puts up with you. You're always an ass when he's around. I don't know what's wrong with you. I really hope you're nicer when you two are alone, otherwise he must really love you to endure you."

* * *

><p>A week later, he was in his car at nine o'clock. It was the earliest he had been up on a Saturday morning in years. As soon as he turned the engine on, Kurt's copy of the soundtrack to The Sound of Music started. The last time he had been in his car was when he and Kurt went out to have dinner at BreadstiX, before Kurt even transferred, back when it was not so complicated with Kurt.<p>

Sure, they had had good times since he transferred. Blaine played them back in his head as he drove down the highway. All the times he visited him in his room or when they took walks outside together, he had had a lot of fun. Those moments made him feel like maybe, perhaps, Kurt too kind of liked him more than just as a friend.

Since the Sectionals incident, Blaine had apologised profusely and Kurt had told him it was okay, but something was gone. Sure, they hung out in Kurt's room and had fun together, but there was something missing. Sometimes, Blaine feared it might be Kurt's interest in him. Maybe he had been sent back to the 'friend-only' area. It did not help that Kurt spent more and more time with that guy from his class. Blaine still refused to learn his name.

Blaine was so confused, that was why he was standing on the doorstep of the Jones' two hours later. He hesitated before he rang the doorbell. After two minutes, though, he realised how silly it was that he drove all the way there to cower at the last second. So, he rang.

Seconds later, a young girl looking a lot like Mercedes opened the door.

"Hi, my name's Blaine. I know it's early but I wondered if, maybe, I could see Mercedes. I'm a friend of Kurt. Hummel?" He absolutely hated showing up unexpected.

"Mercedes! There's the guy who's an ass to Kurt at the door. Do I let him in?" the girl yelled over her shoulder.

Mercedes appeared in the doorway and Blaine took a step back. She looked even more infuriated than at Sectionals, telling him that, yes, Kurt called her about what had happened. He dug in his pocket and took out a white handkerchief. He shook it a few times in front of him, putting on the best miserable face he could come up with.

"How do you manage to screw up time after time?" she finally said, stepping back to let him in.

"I don't know. That's why I'm here. I need your help."

"You think?"

He followed her down the hallway, waving at her parents when they crossed them. They finally stopped in her room and he awkwardly stood in the middle of it, unsure if he was allowed to sit down. She shut the door and stood in front of him, her hands on her hips.

Blaine was about to talk when she slapped him. He stared at her, his mouth hanging open, a hand on his painful cheek.

"What was that for?" he said, his voice higher than usual.

"Just count yourself lucky I don't want to get blood on my carpet."

Blaine put his hands in his pockets and looked down, waiting for her to tell him what to do. She punched his shoulder and raised her hand to slap him again.

"Please don't beat me up," he whined, taking a step back and putting his hands up to protect himself.

"You're not allowed to look miserable and you totally deserve to get the crap beat out of you."

"I came here for advice. You know Kurt better than I do. I'm confused. I need your help. Don't kill me. Please."

She sighed deeply and motioned for him to sit on her bed.

"We have a lot of work to do, then, if you want to understand Kurt."

He left her house exhausted, seven hours later, more confused than before, if it was even possible. The main thing she repeated over and over again was that Blaine needed to stop being rude, which, yeah, he kind of figured out himself. There was also a lot of insulting and hitting involved, but he figured he was lucky to have left her house alive. At least, now, he had Kurt's best friend to back him up.

Blaine was parking his car in his usual spot when he received a text message.

_Meet me in the backyard. – kurt_

Blaine walked around the building, the snow creaking under his feet. It had been snowing almost every day in the past week, leaving a thick layer of snow everywhere.

Blaine found Kurt standing alone in his usual straight and tensed posture. He turned around when he heard Blaine approaching and Blaine immediately knew something was going to go wrong. Kurt had a serious look on his face. With his gray military coat and his perfectly styled hair, he looked like walked straight out of a 1800s Christmas tale. He was gorgeous and Blaine's throat tightened.

"Blaine," he said with no emotion in his voice. "Can you please stand there?" He showed him a specific spot on the ground, where he had made an 'x' in the snow with his heel.

Blaine did as instructed and Kurt nodded, turning on his heels and walking away, stopping a few feet away.

"Kurt, what's this—"

A snowball hit him in the chest and he let out a yelp. Another one followed right after before he could understand it was Kurt who was throwing them at him.

"What are you doing?"

"You're an asshole, Blaine," Kurt shouted, punctuating his sentence with another snowball. It's only then that Blaine noticed the pile of neat snowballs by his feet. "You're an idiot, you're rude and hurtful and you're too stupid to see it." Another snowball.

"Can I say something?" Blaine asked.

"No." Another snowball. "No, you cannot say anything because every time you open your mouth you hurt me. I'm sick of it, Blaine. You're a two-faced asshole and I hate that I can't hate you."

"What are you talking about? Kurt, please, explain what's going on."

"I told you to shut up!" Kurt shrieked before launching himself at Blaine and making him back up until he collapsed backwards in a snow bank. Blaine had a fleeting thought to how much taller Kurt was before he was staring at the starry sky.

He tried to lift himself up but Kurt straddled him and pinned his arms down.

"Kurt," he tried again, only to end up with a mouthful of powdery snow.

"One last time—shut up. Let me talk. Please." Blaine complied, happy that Kurt seemed to have calmed down. The younger boy sat on his heels, his legs on each side of Blaine's. "I've watched you behave since I transferred. I tried to understand why you switched from being an ass to being the sweetest guy on Earth so quickly. It's that stupid school. That's the only reason I found. When you're with them," he flailed his hand in the direction of the school, "you're an ass and you treat me like I'm some sort of gay freak who's too loud and too flamboyant for you."

"I don't—" Kurt tightened his legs, an obvious warning for Blaine to shut up.

"But then you come to my room at night and you flail with me over Patti LuPone and pop singers and I forget why I was mad at you, until one of your friends shows up and you're rude again. I can't believe you never noticed the pattern. It's the only reason I found for your split personalities. That, or you're just a fucking hypocrite and you deserve that I let Mercedes and Finn alone with you in a room for a few hours."

Kurt sniffed a few times and raised his gloved hand to push back a strand of hair. Blaine could not hold back his smile. He always found this habit of Kurt's so endearing.

"You have the nerve to smile when I'm telling you that you suck?" Kurt sounded almost amused. That, or exasperated.

"No, it's your hair. That thing you do. It's adorable."

"What thing?"

"When you push it back."

Kurt rolled his eyes before putting his hand over Blaine's mouth, hushing him.

"I'm not done. Do you even know how much this issue of yours is costing you? If you were always sweet and lovely, you'd—we'd—you know. I thought, a while ago, that maybe—but I guess I was wrong." Kurt was suddenly fidgety.

"Kurt?"

Kurt looked down at him and the look on his face was foreign to Blaine. He had never seen it on Kurt. The younger boy leaned forward, resting his weight on his hands so that his face was only a few inches above Blaine's. Blaine's eyes crossed as he stared at the droplet hanging from the tip of Kurt's nose from being out in the cold for too long.

"I can't believe you never got the hint. All those times I thanked you for being you, did you really think I was only flattering your immense ego? No! I was thanking you for being the version of Blaine I love, the one who's not a condescending cold-hearted jerk."

Before Blaine could open his mouth to reply, Kurt pressed his lips against his. Once Blaine was over the shock of what had just happened, he tried to hold on to him and kiss him back but Kurt got back up to his feet and backed away, going back to his pile of snowballs while dusting the snow off his pants. He nodded his head at Blaine to tell him to get up and back on the 'x', which he did without protesting. He lightly touched his lips with his frozen fingers, a small thing that caused Kurt to look down for a second or two.

"This is what you could have if you were not such a huge douchebag. I know you love me, it's kind of painfully obvious, but with the way you act, I figured you were pushing it away and trying to only be a friend. I respected your decision. But then you became sort of jealous of Ryan, who's only a friend, thank you very much, and I got confused. Then there was Hey Soul Sister at Sectionals and how you kept looking at me and how you sang you could finally be yourself so I thought, hey, he realised he's stupid, but four hours later you insulted me in front of everyone. Do you see the pattern, Blaine? How am I supposed to follow you?"

"I—I'm so sorry, Kurt," he let out, finally seeing the light. "I can't believe I never saw it." This time, the snowball hit him square in the head. "Where the hell did you learn to throw like this?" he exclaimed, wiping the snow off his face.

"Baseball summer camp when I was ten. My dad's last attempt at making me straight. Don't change the subject. We were talking about how much of an idiot you are."

Blaine kept the comment about how much Kurt was enjoying insulting him to himself. He figured it would not be the right time to crack a joke.

"So," Kurt said, walking closer to Blaine. "You have two choices. You keep being an ass and we call off our friendship. It will have been a nice period of our lives and we move on. Or, you go back to being the awesome Blaine who sang me Teenage Dream and we start from scratch and I let you shameless flirt with me until we date. I can no longer only be your friend, Blaine. It hurts and Mercedes told me I need to focus on my own needs. I need stability and certainty. We're strangers or we're boyfriends. Nothing in between. I'm sorry if it doesn't please you, but you've had plenty of time to set the rules and you did not."

By the time he was done talking, Kurt was standing right in front of a paralysed Blaine. He did not know Kurt could be this assertive but he was not going to complain. It was extremely hot to watch.

"Please choose wisely," Kurt whispered before kissing Blaine quickly, causing his heart to skip a beat. He then turned on his heels and disappeared around the corner.

Blaine stayed outside for a long time. He walked around the school until he could not feel his extremities – and other parts – anymore. He had a lot of cleaning to do in his head, as made obvious by Mercedes and Kurt in the last twelve hours. He had never noticed how his personality changed depending on who he was with, but now that Kurt and Mercedes mentioned it, it became painfully obvious to him.

Once he decided to go back in, he headed straight for his room. Predictably, he was not done taking off his coat that David and Wes were sitting on his bed, demanding explanations.

"Where have you been all day? We were looking for you."

"I had stuff to deal with. Urgent stuff."

"Kurt-related stuff? We saw you two outside. It was very entertaining to watch him kick your ass," David said, clearly amused.

"Guys, do I have two personalities?"

"And then there was light! Finally! You needed some skinny gay kid pelting you with snow for twenty minutes to realise it?"

"Hey, don't call him gay. That's rude."

"Oh my god, David, I can't believe it. He's finally being a real friend to Kurt and standing up for him when we insult him! I'm so proud, it's like watching my son on his first day of school!"

"Seriously, though, do I?" He sat down with them on his bed.

"What, you mean how you're a normal teenager with us but turn into the fairy queen when alone with Kurt? Yes, you do have two personalities. It's like you're ashamed of who you are around us. Breaking news: we know you're gay. We won't love you less if you let it show."

"In fact, we'll like you more," Wes cut in. "It was not so obvious before you met Kurt because we had nothing to compare with. But the second we saw you with him, we realised how much you were repressing. You're lucky he still wants to talk to you. You've been a major dick. I would have kicked your ass if you'd acted with me that way."

"May I remind you that he just did?" Blaine commented, pushing a wet strand of hair out of his eyes. The snow had washed off most of his hair gel and his hair was already going back to being curly.

"Yeah, it was hilarious. Justin filmed it."

"Couldn't you tell me before that I had a personality problem?"

"You would not have believed us. We tried hinting it but you were so thick. I still can't believe you're seeing the light now."

"Let's just say Kurt's best friend made sure I would never be confused about this anymore."

Blaine's roommate walked in and waved at Wes and David before flopping down on his bed.

"Hey, Blaine, the word is you got beat up by that really gay kid? It must be shameful," he asked.

"His name is Kurt and since I am gay too, it doesn't really affect me," Blaine replied coldly.

"Oh, right, you are. With the way you act around him, it's easy to forget about it." Blaine stared at him. "What, did I say something wrong? I mean that I imagined you'd be more supportive and would not turn him down so much since you're the same? I don't mean this in an offensive way, you know I don't give a fuck if you like dick, it's just, you know, that didn't really make sense to me."

"—did you pay him?" he asked Wes and David, who shook their heads at the same time. "Alright, whatever, it has been a long day so Simon and Garfunkel, could you please let me enjoy the sound of silence and let me sleep?"

"Nice one," Wes nodded appreciatively before leaving the room on David's heels.

"So, what's your plan?" his roommate asked when the two others were gone.

"I'll go take a shower and then go to bed?" Blaine answered tentatively.

"No, about Kurt. How do you plan on winning him over?"

"I—" The first thing Mercedes had told him was to stop denying his love for Kurt. "I don't know yet. He said he'd let me flirt with him if I was nice again, so I guess I'll start there."

"And here I thought you had it easy dating guys. It's as complicated as with girls," the other boy sighed dramatically. "I noticed that compliments are awesome to win girls over. You could try that on him."

"Yeah, I will," Blaine said before leaving the room. It was really weird to discuss his love life with someone who was not Wes and David.

Blaine spent his Sunday following Kurt around, agreeing to everything he wanted until Kurt snapped and told him to let him breathe and go find some hobbies.

* * *

><p>On Monday morning, he waited for Kurt outside of his room. Kurt jumped when he found him there and his eyes narrowed.<p>

"Did you sleep here?"

"No. I wanted to know if you would do me the honour of having breakfast with me this morning." Blaine bowed down ceremoniously before offering his arm to Kurt. "I heard they make splendid Froot Loops here, and their toasts are apparently to die for." He winked at Kurt, who rolled his eyes.

"As long as you pay," Kurt said haughtily before heading for the dining hall, ignoring Blaine's arm and forcing him to run to catch up with him.

"May I say, your hair looks amazing today," Blaine commented as they walked down the hallway.

"Thank you." Blaine was not sure but he thought he saw a blush on Kurt's face.

Once in the dining hall, Kurt slipped his meal plan card into Blaine's pocket, put his finger on his lips and winked.

"So, are you paying or will I have to go sit with my cooler friends?" Kurt asked in a very dignified way.

"I always pay for my dates, Mr. Hummel, don't worry."

Blaine was glad to see that Kurt was playing along. After they sat down, alone and away from their respective friends, Kurt commented on how good the food was, even though the both of them knew it was barely edible, at best.

"This is a very nice venue, Blaine. You outdid yourself."

"Anything for you." Kurt bit back a laugh after Blaine said it. "That was too much, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, definitely too much. I appreciate the effort, though."

Kurt crossed his legs under the table and his foot rubbed against Blaine's leg. He did not know if it was intentional or not because nothing on Kurt's face showed that he had done something extremely flirty on purpose.

The conversation was easy and relaxed and a happy smile graced Kurt's lips the whole time. Blaine had to admit that they were less enthusiastic than when outside the school. He blamed it on how they both still tried to not stand out from the crowd. Kurt had learned to balance his personality with what was expected from Dalton students, a thing Blaine could definitely get a few tips about.

"Do you want to have lunch with me?" Blaine asked as they were heading for their first period. This time, Kurt had taken his arm.

"I have to revise with friends. I'm sorry. Maybe we can hang out after classes?"

"Yeah, sure." Blaine nodded with a smile and Kurt squeezed his upper arm briefly.

"So, this," Kurt said, moving his arm that was locked with Blaine's up and down a few times, "is okay now?"

"It should have been from the start. I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't mention it. Just learn from your gigantic mistakes and count yourself lucky I don't hold grudges."

"I thought it was because you love me?" Blaine asked tentatively, a teasing smile on his face.

"If this is your definition of flirting, it's no wonder you're still single. You never, ever force the person you are trying to woo to tell you they love you. Ever. You wait for them to tell you when they are ready. I'm not, so stop it."

"So you do love me but you're not ready to tell me?"

"Do you even listen to me when I talk or is it your face that looks like you're attentive?"

"Well, most of the time I get too distracted by your eyes or your lips to properly listen to you," Blaine answered before giving Kurt a playful seducing glance.

A furious blush appeared on Kurt's face and he tripped over his feet, holding on tightly to Blaine to avoid falling.

"Is that better flirting?" Blaine asked once Kurt was steady on his feet again.

"Yes, it is," the younger boy answered faintly, making sure their eyes didn't meet. "For the record, what you said is not what made me trip. I'm clumsy."

"Whatever you say, Kurt," Blaine told him, unable to hide the amusement in his voice.

They entered their French class still with their arms hooked and Blaine tried to ignore the knowing smiles his friends gave him.

"Hello, boys," Wes said as they sat down. "We didn't see you at breakfast, Blaine."

"No, I was on a date." He winked at Kurt, who pointedly ignored him in order to look through his bag.

The class began and everything was fine until their teacher reminded the class that some of them still had to do their oral presentations. Blaine had been so busy worrying over Kurt and how much he was convinced he had screwed up everything that he forgot he still needed to read a poem in front of the entire class. In French. His initial decision to direct it at Kurt did not change, even if the situation was slightly different than when he had chosen his poem.

When his turn came, he looked over the one he had chosen three weeks ago but never read again. It was definitely a good thing that they were allowed to have the text with them. Blaine walked to the front of the class and felt suddenly very nervous about his choice.

"Voici des fruits, des fleurs, des feuilles et des branches, et puis voici mon coeur qui ne bat que pour vous," he began, trying to stop his hands from shaking. "Ne le déchirez pas avec vos deux mains blanches et qu'à vos yeux si beaux l'humble présent soit doux."

Kurt straightened in his chair as soon as he started talking and stared at him with a captivated face, his head resting on his hand. Blaine had to look away to be able to continue reciting without stuttering but he knew that Kurt had understood it was directed at him the second their eyes met.

"J'arrive tout couvert encore de rosée que le vent du matin vient glacer à mon front. Souffrez que ma fatigue à vos pieds reposée rêve des chers instants qui la délasseront."

The next time he looked at Kurt, he was furiously writing something, lifting his head from time to time to stare at Blaine in awe. Or at least, it looked like awe. Maybe he was reading too much into it but he sure hoped he was right.

"Sur votre jeune sein laissez rouler ma tête toute sonore encor de vos derniers b-baisers." Of course, he had to stutter on 'kisses'. He hated his life. "Laissez-la s'apaiser de la bonne tempête et que je dorme un peu puisque vous reposez."

The class politely applauded and he almost ran down the aisle to sit behind his desk. There was a neatly folded piece of paper waiting for him on it. He briefly turned to Kurt, who was busy looking at his nails and did not raise his head.

_You're making it difficult to play hard to get._

Blaine had to put his hand over his mouth to hide his grin. He reached for his pen and quickly scribbled '_then stop ;)_' before handing the note back to Kurt. Blaine heard him snort behind his back and could picture him rolling his eyes.

Kurt took his arm to leave the classroom, looking sideways at him with a tiny smile.

"Did you really have to choose a poem by Verlaine? You know he had an affair with a guy and shot him in the hand, right?"

"Did you really have to kill the romanticism of my declaration of undying love for you?"

"I have to make it hard for you. You have to deserve me. Don't think it'll only take one day for me to fall into your arms. Now I need to go to my next lesson. I'll see you tonight. Bye!" He waved his hand at Blaine and entered his classroom.

"He's got you by the balls," Wes said, wrapping his arm around Blaine's shoulders. He and David had the very unnerving ability to appear out of thin air.

"I wish he _actually _did," Blaine answered, causing Wes to push him while making retching noises.

"Dude, no. Seriously. If you're going to start gaying it out, we need to make rules. No mentions of sex. I can deal with helping you getting Kurt, but do not tell me what you want to do with him. Understood?"

"Well then you need to stop talking about what you wish you could do to your girlfriend. It works both ways. This straight sex thing kind of grosses me out."

"Deal." He and Wes shook hands

Less than two hours later, at lunch, Wes was already breaking the new rule by talking about his plans for Friday night. In retaliation, Blaine began detailing everything he would do to Kurt when he finally got him for himself. It left Wes with a pale face and a disgusted frown. Blaine looked at the rest of their friends and warned them about the deal, telling them to pass the word to the others.

"You talk about sex with your girls, I'm going to tell you all about the sweet love I want to make to Kurt. No mercy."

"Bragging about sex with me won't get you any, sweetheart."

Blaine nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Kurt's voice behind him. He turned around and caught Kurt winking at him as he headed to sit with his friends. When he caught Blaine's entire table staring at him, he loudly said 'I'm a free bitch, baby!' causing half the dining hall to burst out laughing.

Hours later, when he was sitting on Kurt's bed watching him answer his father's lengthy email, he realised he maybe had to apologise.

"Hey, sorry for earlier. I don't usually, you know, brag about sex. You missed the beginning of the conversation."

Kurt turned around to look at Blaine, his eyebrow raised.

"You're still bothered about this? Blaine, if anything, I'm flattered." He went back to his email and laughed nervously. "I wrote 'I can't wait to screw you all'. See what you're doing to me?" He let out another nervous giggle.

"It would be easier if you gave in."

Pavarotti chirped loudly as Kurt opened his mouth to answer.

"What he said." Kurt got up and joined Blaine on his bed. "Not yet."

"But why?" Blaine whined, resting his head on Kurt's shoulder. "It's totally been two days since I realised I was an asshole. Can't I get the cute boy now? If life were a Hollywood flick I totally would."

"Alas it's not, and you totally deserve to suffer longer before you get me."

"Your willpower is terrifying."

Kurt shrugged.

"I know I'm getting you in the end. I'll enjoy having some power over you while it lasts."

"This is so unhealthy."

"So's your split personality disorder. You really hurt me, Blaine. It's my turn now."

"I'm sorry I did," Blaine whispered, taking Kurt's hand. "I really am. I never—if I had known I was, I—well, I did, I knew I was doing something wrong, but I didn't know what and I didn't know how to fix it and fix you. I'm sorry. Can you believe it? I drove all the way to Lima to let Mercedes beat sense into me."

"You what?" Kurt looked bewildered.

"Saturday, I spent the day with her to try to find out what I was doing wrong. She slapped me a few times. I think I might have a few bruises, too. But she told me a lot of things that I should have figured out myself. You said it earlier, it's no wonder I'm single."

"Don't beat yourself up. This is new for me too. We'll learn together how it works. Don't worry."

Blaine nodded against Kurt's shoulder and squeezed his hand.

"Kurt. Please?" Blaine tried again ten minutes later, wrapping his arms around Kurt and leaning in to try to kiss his cheek.

"Blaine! Stop this! I said you had to wait!" Kurt said through his laughter as he moved away, ending up on his back as Blaine kept moving in.

"But we're wasting some precious time we could spend making out! We're not getting any younger and every minute counts!"

"I hardly think that not kissing you for a few days will matter in the long run." He had a hard time talking through his laughter. It did not help that Blaine was tickling him.

"You just love having me at your feet." Blaine said, stopping his tickling to straddle his hips.

"Yes, I quite like it." Kurt looked up at Blaine fondly, a sweet smile on his lips. "Don't think this isn't hard on me, too. But if I have even the slightest hint of self-respect, I have to wait. It's all about being able to look me in the mirror, you know? If I fall into your arms the second you apologise, it makes me sort of easy, doesn't it? Don't answer."

"No, you're right. I get your point. It makes sense. I'm sorry. Take your time. I'll continue courting you, though."

"I sure hope so, sir."

Blaine moved away from Kurt and sat down at the foot of his bed. Kurt sat up and leaned against his pillow, yawning.

"I'll let you go to sleep. You look tired."

"Mm, yeah. Good night, Blaine," he said as he stretched his legs, wiggling his toes against Blaine's shin.

"Good night, Kurt. Sleep tight." Blaine quickly leaned in and planted a kiss on Kurt's forehead before he could push him away.

He left Kurt's room and headed straight to David and Wes'.

"Calvin, Hobbes, I need your help. I need to learn all of your tricks to make girls fall for you."

"Yeah, because we're real pimps," David said, looking away from his copy of Watchmen to give Blaine an incredulous look over his black-rimmed glasses.

"No, but you have girlfriends. That's already better than most of the Warblers. Please?"

"Yeah, whatever, we'll teach you what we know," Wes said before rolling his eyes. "Anything that'll stop you from sulking and depressing everyone in a five miles radius."

* * *

><p>Blaine spent the rest of the week trying to win Kurt over. He complimented him, held doors opened, everything Wes and David told him to do. He could feel Kurt's will dissolving as the days went by, from the way his gazes lingered on Blaine or the increased touching. He had one last trick up his sleeve that would surely get him the boy.<p>

He sent Kurt a text message telling him to meet him in the seniors common late Friday afternoon. Most of the students were gone home for the weekend, guaranteeing an empty room for his plan. As he had expected, Kurt was there earlier, concentrated on reading a textbook. Sometimes, Blaine wondered if he ever did something else than study.

"I have something for you," Blaine said when he entered the room. He put down the cd player he borrowed from Kyle and stood next to the table, solemn. "Mercedes told me that the straightest way to your heart was through music. So here it goes. I hope you know it."

He pressed play and a mellow music filled the room. Kurt smiled widely and straightened in his chair as Blaine did a few ridiculous dance steps to sit on the back of the couch close to him.

They chased each other around the room during the entire song, reminding Blaine of what they had been doing all week long. At one point, he was convinced Kurt was going to kiss him, they were so close, but he moved away once more. When the song ended, Kurt stayed pressed up to him for a while, not talking or moving. Blaine had to check to make sure he was even breathing.

"I have to go," he suddenly said, jumping to his feet and leaving the room.

Blaine slumped on the couch, wanting to scream. If that did not work, he might have to give in and act according to his plan Z; wait for Kurt to change his mind. With that resolution in mind, he dragged his feet back to his room and plopped down on his bed. All of his dreams of walking hand in hand with Kurt in the snow or doing Christmas-y things with him were disappearing in front of his eyes. Who knew how long it would take Kurt to realise Blaine was out of resources.

He was about to go listen to the saddest songs he had on his iPod when his door burst open. Kurt was standing in the doorway, a manic look on his face.

"I can't do this anymore," he said before slamming the door shut and stalking through the room.

He climbed on Blaine's bed and straddled his hips before leaning in and kissing him full on the mouth, his arms holding up on each side of his head. Blaine gripped his hips and kissed him back, humming against his lips.

"What made you change your mind?" Blaine asked once they surfaced for air. Kurt had climbed off him and snuggled in between the wall and Blaine's body.

"That fucking song." He paused to press a long kiss to Blaine's cheek. "And Wes and David. They ambushed me as I was heading to my room and told me to give in before you jumped off the roof of this building. I told them they were overreacting."

"They were not. Before you walked in to attack me with boy kisses, I was about to listen to The Smiths and The Cure."

"Boy kisses," Kurt repeated with a soft laugh before putting his hand on Blaine's cheek and kiss him. "I think I'm going to become a fan of kissing."

"Me too," Blaine whispered before turning on his side to better kiss Kurt.

Blaine was half on top of Kurt when his roommate walked in. He stopped making out with Kurt with a sigh to turn his head and stare at the newcomer.

"Do you mind?" He tried to make it clear with his tone that he wanted him out.

"Oh, no, go on, I'll watch a movie on my laptop."

Blaine stared at him in disbelief until Kurt wrapped his hand around his neck and pulled him down.

"I don't care, just fucking kiss me already. I've waited long enough."

If Blaine had known that playing it Victorian style would turn Kurt into a clingy assertive kissing machine, he would not have complained so much about waiting. They made out for a while until Brian sneezed, reminding Blaine of his presence.

"Kurt, hold on, wait," Blaine said, panting for air. "I can't do this. Not with him in the room."

"Let's go to mine, then," Kurt answered, quickly getting off the bed.

Blaine looked at Kurt, at his tousled hair, wrinkled clothes, red face and swollen lips and he sprung to his feet as a tight feeling appeared low in his stomach.

"Yeah, let's go."

He grabbed Kurt's hand and pulled him along. They sped down the hallway, Blaine praying they would not meet anyone.

"Thank god for loose uniform pants, huh?" Kurt chuckled after hearing his own husky voice.

"Shut up and walk faster."

Kurt fiddled with his key for thirty agonisingly long seconds before he managed to unlock the door. Once they were inside, Kurt pushed him up against the door and kissed him roughly, panting.

"I'm so turned on, this is insane," he whispered against Blaine's lips, causing him to grip his hips tightly and breathe out sharply. Kurt kissed him again, his leg sneaking in between Blaine's to press against his crotch as his fingers undid the first button of Blaine's shirt. Blaine gathered all the willpower he could come up with to utter his next words.

"Kurt, I think we should—" Blaine began but stopped when Kurt backed away from him to lie down on his bed, propped up on his elbows, a come hither look on his face. "Kurt, seriously, calm down."

Kurt's face fell and he let himself fall down on his pillow.

"Sorry?" Kurt said, stroking his face with his hands. "I was just—you're so. Sorry."

"Hey, don't apologise for totally wanting to jump my bones," Blaine said with a laugh, sitting on the edge of Kurt's bed. "I just think we have all the time in the world for that and that we should wait to be sure we're ready, you know? I'd hate to rush things."

"Why do you have to be so depressingly a year older than me? That makes you mature and responsible."

"Hey, that doesn't mean I don't want to spend my evening kissing and groping you."

Kurt let out a nervous laugh and sat up.

"Good, because otherwise I would have had to abandon you for a quick trip to the bathroom." He laughed nervously again and brought his hand to Blaine's face, his fingers playing with the hair at his temple.

"Me too," Blaine said, pecking Kurt's lips.

"I know," he replied candidly.

Blaine guided Kurt as he laid down again, their lips never separating. Their kisses were longer and deeper, like some of their hurry was gone now that what they were going to do was clear. Blaine often had to come up for air, the mix of Kurt's hands all over him and the friction of Kurt's thigh against his crotch too much to take.

What drove him over the edge was Kurt tensing and gripping him, out of breath and red in the face as he reached his climax, his gasped breath hot against Blaine's neck.

Kurt curled into him, a goofy smile on his face. Blaine would have complained about him being too warm and making his already sweaty and sticky clothes even more uncomfortable but it was _Kurt_and he was floating in a happy, pink-tinted fog.

* * *

><p>It turned out that Kurt took a lot of place when he slept, if how Blaine woke up on the floor was any indication. The sun was not up yet and Kurt's alarm clock showed six in the morning. Blaine stretched and yawned before getting up to his feet. He scribbled a note to Kurt telling him he went back to his own room and then exited quietly.<p>

Never in his life did he think he would do a walk of shame down the hallways of Dalton Academy. He was still wearing his uniform but without his jacket or shoes. He did not bother put his shirt back in his pants. He knew that, overall, he looked like what you'd expect someone to be like during a walk of shame.

He was almost to his room when someone cleared their throat behind him.

"Good morning," Wes said, balancing on his feet. He, too, was wearing his uniform, his coat hanging from his arm. Even from five feet away, he smelled of girl perfume.

"Morning," Blaine replied awkwardly.

"Nice hum—" Wes started, pointing at his own neck.

Blaine's eyes widened and he covered his neck with his hands.

"That bad?"

"Yes. I'd wear a scarf or a turtle neck shirt if I were you. I'll go to bed, now, if you don't mind."

"I'm going there, too."

Without another word, they went their ways. Blaine crashed back in bed, not even bothering with taking off his clothes, and immediately fell asleep. He and Kurt had made out well into the early hours of dawn.

He woke up several hours later.

"Good morning," Brian greeted him when he raised his head from his pillow to check the time.

"Dude, it's one in the afternoon," Blaine said, his voice rough.

"It is. I didn't want to wake you up, you looked like you needed it. I'd take a shower if I were you, though. You reek of hormones."

Blaine groaned and rubbed his eyes. He rolled out of bed and grabbed a change of clothes.

"Good idea. Shower," he mumbled, heading for the door.

"Nice hickeys, by the way. I see you had fun with your little boyfriend." Blaine's face broke into a large grin at the word 'boyfriend'. "Ugh, take your lovesick face out of here."

A long shower made Blaine feel human again. He still felt weird from his messed-up night but at least, he did not have a layer of dried sweat covering his body. He stopped by the dining hall to grab a muffin before going to the seniors' common, where he was sure to find his friends.

Predictably, they were all there, Kurt included. He was discussing with David and Blaine snickered when he noticed the scarf wrapped around his neck. He readjusted his turtle neck and crossed the room to sit next to Kurt.

"Nice shirt," Kurt teased him before leaning in to kiss him quickly.

"Nice scarf," he replied, winking.

"Aw, you guys are giving me a cavity," Wes commented.

"But we're in love!" Blaine replied, holding the first syllable of 'love' for a long time.

"Yeah, we kind of noticed, you know, the second we met Kurt," David said with a teasing smirk.

"Timon, Pumbaa, you're just jealous of our epic romance," Kurt replied haughtily.

"Nice one!" Blaine said, high fiving him.

Kurt took a hold of his hand and leaned against him, his head on Blaine's shoulder. Blaine looked down at him, not missing his friends' smirks when he looked up. He closed his eyes to better enjoy the warmth from the fireplace and squeezed Kurt's hand. It was hard to believe that a week ago he felt like he was surrounded by a flock of Dementors and now he had what he always wanted. He felt his heart swelling when he realised Kurt had fallen asleep against him. He kissed the top of his head and smiled.

"I miss my girlfriend, now," David said with a pout.

"Me too," Wes added, putting on the same face.

They exchanged a glance before cuddling. They glared at all of their friends.

"Not a word. We are emotionally deprived and these two are making us crave affection. No homo," Wes snapped.

"Whatever you say, Batman and Robin."


End file.
